True Spandau Ballet

” True ” is by Spandau Ballet, the English New Romantic band formed in London in 1979. Spandau Ballet was inspired by and became an integral part of, the New Romantic movement. The movement, known as New Romanticism, was a pop culture movement popular the United Kingdom, beginning in the nightclubs around 1979 it reached its height around 1981.
Spandau Ballet’s line-up consisted of brothers Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp on guitars, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble. The band’s early style was that of the early Rolling Stones or The Kinks; they became more electronic after being influenced by groups such as Kraftwerk and Telex. A successful band, Spandau Ballet had ten UK Top Ten hits and eight UK Top Ten albums.
” True ” was written by Gary Kemp ( Gary James Kemp ), the British pop musician and actor. In addition to writing for the band, Gary has had a successful acting career. He has starred in many movies including The Bodyguard, The Krays, Killing Zoe, Magic Hunter, Dog Eat Dog and Assassin.
Production for the single was by Jolley & Swain ( Steven Nicholas Jolley and Tony Swain ), who were a successful songwriting and production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s. They worked with many of the top artists of the era like Alison Moyet, Diana Ross, Tom Robinson, Errol Brown and Wang Chung.
The song was released on the 14th of April 1983 by record label Chrysalis ( Universal Music Group ) and taken the third single from the band’s third studio album of the same name. The album, heavily influenced by jazz, soul and R&B, was released in March 1983. The successful album was recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. It reached the top of the UK Albums Chart and made the Top Twenty on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
The inspiration for the lyrics came from a crush the songwriter Gary Kemp had on 80s group Altered Images lead singer, Clare Grogan. The Scottish actress and singer had supporting roles in the 80s film Gregory’s Girl and the cult science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, where she played the first incarnation of Kristine Kochanski.
In an interview with British newspaper, The Guardian, Gary said of his inspiration ” I met her on Top of the Pops and, at one point, travelled up to Scotland to have tea with her and her mum and dad. Although my feelings were unrequited and the relationship was platonic, it was enough to trigger a song. ”
” True ” was a commercial success for Spandau Ballet. In the United States, the song reached a peak of number four on the Billboard Hot 100, spending eighteen weeks on the chart there.
In the United Kingdom, it entered the UK Singles Chart on the 24th of April 1983 and peaked at Number One, a position it held for four weeks. The song spent seven weeks in the Top Ten and a total of fifteen weeks on the UK chart.